In the last 12 months, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) has added more than 250 engineers to its fold at its new software center in the East Bay of San Francisco as it intends to boost the work force of software developers and computer scientists to 400 along with staking $1 billion in the center by 2015. The moves are a part of the company’s huge strategy that it calls the “industrial Internet,” which will provide digital intelligence to the physical world of industry in sweeping proportions. Observers say that Internet-era tech is poised to transform the industrial economy similarly to what the consumer Internet has done to communications, media, and advertising over the last decade.

International Business Machines Corporation’s (NYSE:IBM) analysis indicates that domestic online retail sales jumped by 17.4 percent on Thanksgiving Day, a feat that was followed by a 20.7 percent rise in online Black Friday sales. Additionally, mobile shopping also soared as 24 percent of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site — a figure which was up 14.3 percent year-over-year from 2011. Unsurprisingly, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad tablet produced more traffic than did other mobile devices, comprising nearly 10 percent of online shopping, with the iPhone next with 8.7 percent.

Samsung (SSNLF.PK) says that its flagship phone-tablet Galaxy Note II has topped 5 million in channel sales, posting an additional 2 million shipments since November 2nd. Only 24 days ago, the company announced that the Galaxy Note II’s channel sales had jumped to 3 million just 37 days after its intro.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) shares have made the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs, garnering a $24 price target, as the analysts believe that it is reacting to the share buyback at 76 percent yet to go. Goldman also commented that, “With capital allocation actions serving as a catalyst to drive a revaluation in the stock, we believe the value of Yahoo!’s balance sheet assets and the core business are worth more than the current stock price,” the analyst notes. “In our opinion, this revaluation, along with recent clarity on the turnaround and channel checks signaling effective management of the organization’s structure, investments and finances, creates a very attractive risk/reward scenario, particularly given the early reaction in the stock to the buyback and the roughly 75% of the buyback that still remains.”